


Apple

by gold_pen_leaps



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Gift Giving, Love Confessions, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Romantic Gestures, teasing as a form of affection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-12 11:00:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28884276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gold_pen_leaps/pseuds/gold_pen_leaps
Summary: Kylo Ren was contemplating a conundrum that suddenly seemed more important than all other concerns, even the need to blend in.
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	Apple

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MBlair](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MBlair/gifts).



The man in the tattered dark brown cloak had been standing by the fruit stand long enough that one of the sellers was sending him suspicious glances. No doubt he looked rougher around the edges than the others in the crowd, with the scar on his face and his well-worn, though clean, clothing. But Kylo Ren was contemplating a conundrum that suddenly seemed more important than all other concerns, even the need to blend in.

The condrundrum was the following: Do you try to find a way to cut an apple into three equal parts, avoiding the core? Or do you buy two apples and take a bite out of both? And what did either choice say about him, as a person?

The amount of time he had spent in front of the fruit stand was beginning to feel strange, even for him. Naturally, this was the point where Hux found him, at peak awkwardness.

Hux stood next to him, then drew closer when Kylo looked over at him. “It’s all patter for the tourists,” Hux said, in lieu of a greeting, “Don’t waste your money on overpriced apples.”

Kylo jolted slightly. “What?” Hux was Force-null.

Hux nodded towards the sign next to the stand. Skimming the text, Kylo realized that it was an explanation of the traditions about apples on this planet, the same explanation he had overheard the seller tell to another customer.

He could see a particular glint in Hux’s eyes as he looked at Kylo’s face, and he knew they were both recalling a dozen past teasing remarks about Hux’s skills of observation and Kylo’s readable facial expressions. Kylo’s situational awareness was sufficient to keep him safe, and they both knew that, but that hadn’t stopped Hux from gaining a kind of gleeful smugness over pointing out their differences. Kylo quickly changed the subject. “Where’s Rey?”

“Sitting down at the noodle stand. She’ll be there for awhile. Come, I’ll lead you to her.”

“I don’t need you to lead me to _Rey,_ ” he said. Another old fight that wasn’t really a fight. He placed his hand on Hux’s forearm and let him guide him through the crowd, away from the fruit stand.

* * *

Kylo had the idea that this was, perhaps, Rey’s second bowl of noodles, considering that she was halfway through it. Come to think of it, the sauce might have been a different color. Rey paused between bites when he sidled up to her, placing himself at the corner of the noodle stand, bodily blocking her from any part of the crowd that could (theoretically, anyway) jostle her. She looked at Kylo, tilting her head. “Did you eat anything yet?”

“He was caught in a tourist trap,” Hux said, where he was leaning - a contrived posture of relaxation, so different from his persona as a soldier - against the counter on her other side.

“I’m sure some locals believe in the custom,” Kylo said, defensively.

“Mm?” Rey glanced back and forth, taking another bite of her food.

“There’s a custom on this planet,” Kylo said, “Of sharing an apple with someone you… like.”

“With your lover,” Hux clarified. “Or someone you wish to be your lover. But the price of the apples were so high and the marketing spiel so tantalizing, that I can only surmise he was trapped there, trying to figure out if the expense is worth the product.”

“It’s not that,” Kylo said. “I was trying to figure out the symbolism of different methods of presenting an apple to someone. Is it more intimate to take a bite in the same place as the other? Should it be sliced, showing care and neatness?”

Hux huffed. “How… poetic of you,” he said. “However, it’s not that complicated. They want to sell apples, so they find a way to sell apples.”

Rey’s eyes brightened. “We could each buy our own apples and bake it into a pie.”

“I think the point is to gift the apple to another, as a surprise gesture,” Kylo said. “It’s the ritual of offering and accepting that makes it good, that symbolizes that you are... together.”

Rey shrugged. “The way I see it, all you need to be together is to agree to be together,” she said, then added, “Romantic gestures are nice, though.”

“Sensible,” Hux said, “No nonsense about throwing a big party or worrying about the logistics of fruit slicing.”

“But,” Kylo said carefully, “If you were given an apple, or part of an apple, you would not be displeased?”

“I like fruit,” Rey said, smiling.

“I’ll pretend to be surprised,” Hux said dryly. “For the sake of romance.”


End file.
